SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

Scholarship Fund for Women

The first project and concern of the women who gathered in 1980 to begin a local AAUW branch was to provide a substantial scholarship to be awarded annually to a deserving Tehachapi High School girl. The founding group hoped that more girls from this community would be encouraged to enroll in and complete a four-year college education. This start has blossomed into a program which now is one of the largest providers of local scholarships in the community.

Our scholarship committee is operationalized as the “Scholarship Fund for Women” (SFFW).  It has 501(c) (3) status. The fund is administered by a Board of Trustees, consisting of a number of branch members. To date, SSFW has awarded almost $246,000 in local scholarships. Trustees donate their time and dollars to cover the administrative costs of the Fund.  Last year, the Fund awarded over $15,000 in local scholarships.

The Fund awards multiple categories of scholarships.

• Graduating Tehachapi High School seniors, male and female. Scholarships have been aimed at individuals pursuing bachelor’s degrees and also at those attending a vocational school or program.
• Middle School cash awards to a female and a male 8th grade student – selected by their teachers for excellence in math and science
• Re-entry awards for local women who are starting or re-starting college after having been in the workforce or having raised children.

Applications for the high school awards are completed via the career office at the school. There is not an application required for the middle school awards – the teachers make a selection. Anyone interested in applying for the re-entry scholarship should contact Janice Armstrong. Applications are due by April 15th of each year.

Donations are gladly accepted – and are tax deductible! Make a check payable to Scholarship Fund for Women and send to the branch mailbox at P.O. Box 273, Tehachapi, CA 93581.